The actress died of Alzheimer’s in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Monday, March 31, an online obituary announced.
“She lived her final year of life in North Carolina, surrounded by all of her favorite things, new friends, and more time with [her daughter] Emily than she’d had in 35 years,” the obituary stated.
- My husband said he needed to go out alone, so i followed him. He entered a chapel – and there she was, my sister, in a white dress next to him. “She doesn’t know, right?” my sister said. “Relax,” he whispered. My mom laughed, “she’s too dumb to notice.” I walked away in silence. When they came home, they froze at the doorstep.
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Allen is survived by her daughter Emily Fonseca, two sisters, Hannah Davie and Meg Pokrass, nephew, Miles Bond, ex-husband, Peter Gelblum and grandson, Arlo Fonseca, who, per the obituary, “made her laugh more than anyone could dream.”
Allen’s sister Pokrass confirmed the news on Facebook, writing, “My wonderful sister, actress Sian Barbara Allen died peacefully today after a long illness … This loss is too hard.”
Allen starred in several 1970s and 1980s TV shows, including The Waltons, The Incredible Hulk, Hawaii Five-0, Columbo, The Rockford Files and Gunsmoke. She also appeared in films such as Billy Two Hats (1974), Love American Style, Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973) and The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976).
Allen was born in Reading, Penn., and attended the Pasadena Playhouse on a scholarship after graduating high school. She went on to star in several theater productions including Our Town in 1976, playing one her favorite roles, Emily Webb — and later naming her daughter after the character.
The late star earned her first Golden Globe nomination for her role in the 1972 film You’ll Like My Mother and became the first woman to pen a script for the TV series Baretta in 1978. She withdrew from acting and public life to focus on politics in 1990, according to the obituary.
“Along with then-husband, Peter, and daughter, Emily, they volunteered for Jackie Goldberg’s 1993 city council campaign in Los Angeles. Sian was a staunch supporter of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers and never crossed a picket line in her entire life,” the obituary further noted.
Allen’s daughter asked that her mother be honored with donations to the AuthoraCare collective hospice of Burlington or a local organization combating oppression.